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Where the Wild Coffee Grows: The Untold Story of Coffee from the Cloud Forests of Ethiopia to Your Cup
Coffee is one of the largest and most valuable commodities in the world. This is the story of its origins, its history, and the threat to its future, by the IACP Award–winning author of Darjeeling.
Located between the Great Rift Valley and the Nile, the cloud forests in southwestern Ethiopia are the original home of Arabica, the most prevalent and superior of the two main species of coffee being cultivated today. Virtually unknown to European explorers, the Kafa region was essentially off-limits to foreigners well into the twentieth century, which allowed the world's original coffee culture to develop in virtual isolation in the forests where the Kafa people continue to forage for wild coffee berries.
Deftly blending in the long, fascinating history of our favorite drink, award-winning author Jeff Koehler takes readers from these forest beginnings along the spectacular journey of its spread around the globe. With cafés on virtually every corner of every town in the world, coffee has never been so popular--nor tasted so good.
Yet diseases and climate change are battering production in Latin America, where 85 percent of Arabica grows. As the industry tries to safeguard the species' future, breeders are returning to the original coffee forests, which are under threat and swiftly shrinking. "The forests around Kafa are not important just because they are the origin of a drink that means so much to so many," writes Koehler. "They are important because deep in their shady understory lies a key to saving the faltering coffee industry. They hold not just the past but also the future of coffee."
Located between the Great Rift Valley and the Nile, the cloud forests in southwestern Ethiopia are the original home of Arabica, the most prevalent and superior of the two main species of coffee being cultivated today. Virtually unknown to European explorers, the Kafa region was essentially off-limits to foreigners well into the twentieth century, which allowed the world's original coffee culture to develop in virtual isolation in the forests where the Kafa people continue to forage for wild coffee berries.
Deftly blending in the long, fascinating history of our favorite drink, award-winning author Jeff Koehler takes readers from these forest beginnings along the spectacular journey of its spread around the globe. With cafés on virtually every corner of every town in the world, coffee has never been so popular--nor tasted so good.
Yet diseases and climate change are battering production in Latin America, where 85 percent of Arabica grows. As the industry tries to safeguard the species' future, breeders are returning to the original coffee forests, which are under threat and swiftly shrinking. "The forests around Kafa are not important just because they are the origin of a drink that means so much to so many," writes Koehler. "They are important because deep in their shady understory lies a key to saving the faltering coffee industry. They hold not just the past but also the future of coffee."
288 pages, Hardcover
First published November 14, 2017
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2018 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
February 6, 2020
This book traces the origins of coffee, or what we know of the origins of coffee, and then covers current cultivation of coffee and the need for finding a more genetically diverse coffee plant. The coffee plant seems to have the same issue that other monocrops do, where its uniformness leads it vulnerable to being wiped out by disease. I actually did think coffee originated in the middle east, having heard it's roasting and drinking be credited to Sufis, so learning of it's origins in Ethiopia was cool. The books was interesting but also I got bored a lot because I like drinking coffee but I don't care enough to think that deeply about. Like it seems ridiculous to me when people talk about the tones of coffee and wine and the fruit flavors etc etc, I just kind of feel like they're full of shit. The book was okay though, and I'm sure someone who loves coffee, and thinks about coffee a lot might enjoy it a lot. I just think it felt like a little much for me, and I guess I just didn't anticipate how bored I would get reading a book thats just 200+ pages about coffee.
October 27, 2019
باتت القهوة المشروب الشعبي الأول عالمياً كما أنه أصبح أسلوباً ممتهجاً لثراء أصحاب المقاهي الذين تنوعوا في تقديم خلطاتهم الخاصة لهذا المشروب السحري
هل تتوق لمعرفة أفضل محاصيل القهوة في العالم وأين تزرع وكيف تصنع بحرفية وكم من حبوبها يلزم لاستخراج ربع كيلو صافي وجاهز للتصدير؟
الكتاب يمضي إلى أعمق من ذلك ويسهب في نشأتها وانتقالها إلى العوالم الأخرى وتأثيراتها .:... إلخ
الكتب فيه اثراء معلوماتي إبداعي مذهل ... يستحق الإشادة
هل تتوق لمعرفة أفضل محاصيل القهوة في العالم وأين تزرع وكيف تصنع بحرفية وكم من حبوبها يلزم لاستخراج ربع كيلو صافي وجاهز للتصدير؟
الكتاب يمضي إلى أعمق من ذلك ويسهب في نشأتها وانتقالها إلى العوالم الأخرى وتأثيراتها .:... إلخ
الكتب فيه اثراء معلوماتي إبداعي مذهل ... يستحق الإشادة
January 19, 2018
Being the coffee lover that I am, reading this book was a no-brainer for me. I love coffee and I was super interested to find out more about its history and production. Jeff Koehler brings to light the secret world of coffee production, and brings you behind the scenes to the sometimes secretive and shady, but ever lucrative, coffee business. I give this book four stars - the information was very interesting and enlightening, but the story lagged in a few parts. However, I definitely recommend pushing through any slow moving parts because the payoff is worth it! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a digital copy for honest review.
November 24, 2017
Those of us who rely on coffee for our caffeine boosts probably take the plant for granted, especially in the coffee-driven culture of the US. It's easy to pop into the corner coffee store for a refill or pick up any variety of bagged coffee at the grocery store. And while many of us probably like our flavored coffees--caramel or hazelnut or any of the many seasonal flavors--we never really think about the flavor of the coffee itself.
While I find straight black coffee simply too bitter for my tastes (at bare minimum, I require sugar), reading this book made me want to power through the bitterness and try and taste the flavor of the actual, pure coffee.
This book starts out in Ethiopia, where, as the title says, the wild coffee grows. As far as scientists can tell, this is where coffee originated and where it still thrives (although in much smaller areas) today. Koehler provides an extensive history of the importance of the native coffee plants to the local population. Not only has coffee been a staple in Ethiopia's trade since medieval times, but it has affected every aspect of their culture as well. The lengthy coffee preparation is just as important as actually drinking the final brewed cup, and coffee being brewed is a sort of aromatic welcome mat, encouraging people to stop in for a cup.
Koehler also dives into just how nuanced coffee flavors can be. Everything in the process, from the altitude and climate of the coffee tree, to how the beans are picked and processed, to how they're ground and what water is used to brew them can affect the final flavor of a cup of joe. This finickiness of the flavor, however, can cause problems when coffee beans are mass produced for consumption, where brands want their flavors to always stay the same. As climate makes for more limited growing opportunities, and leaf rust continues to be an issue in the Arabica species, it can start to be more and more difficult to produce the same coffee beans in the same environment and get that same flavor.
This isn't to say that coffee can't adapt. In fact, it seems to be quite hardy in the right overall environment, especially Robusta (the oft-shunned species of coffee, typically used for instant coffees). However, as the coffee would adapt, so would the beans, their caffeine content, and their end flavor. While beans of many flavors can be mixed to create a blend, if even one of those beans' flavors changes, the overall flavor could also change.
I quite enjoyed learning about the origins of coffee and how it spread across the world, evolving into what it is today. However, there was just something about it all that just didn't fascinate me. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is much more attuned with coffee consumption and culture than I am.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy to review!
(Cross posted on my blog.)
While I find straight black coffee simply too bitter for my tastes (at bare minimum, I require sugar), reading this book made me want to power through the bitterness and try and taste the flavor of the actual, pure coffee.
This book starts out in Ethiopia, where, as the title says, the wild coffee grows. As far as scientists can tell, this is where coffee originated and where it still thrives (although in much smaller areas) today. Koehler provides an extensive history of the importance of the native coffee plants to the local population. Not only has coffee been a staple in Ethiopia's trade since medieval times, but it has affected every aspect of their culture as well. The lengthy coffee preparation is just as important as actually drinking the final brewed cup, and coffee being brewed is a sort of aromatic welcome mat, encouraging people to stop in for a cup.
Koehler also dives into just how nuanced coffee flavors can be. Everything in the process, from the altitude and climate of the coffee tree, to how the beans are picked and processed, to how they're ground and what water is used to brew them can affect the final flavor of a cup of joe. This finickiness of the flavor, however, can cause problems when coffee beans are mass produced for consumption, where brands want their flavors to always stay the same. As climate makes for more limited growing opportunities, and leaf rust continues to be an issue in the Arabica species, it can start to be more and more difficult to produce the same coffee beans in the same environment and get that same flavor.
This isn't to say that coffee can't adapt. In fact, it seems to be quite hardy in the right overall environment, especially Robusta (the oft-shunned species of coffee, typically used for instant coffees). However, as the coffee would adapt, so would the beans, their caffeine content, and their end flavor. While beans of many flavors can be mixed to create a blend, if even one of those beans' flavors changes, the overall flavor could also change.
I quite enjoyed learning about the origins of coffee and how it spread across the world, evolving into what it is today. However, there was just something about it all that just didn't fascinate me. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is much more attuned with coffee consumption and culture than I am.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy to review!
(Cross posted on my blog.)
October 23, 2021
كتاب لعشاق هذا المشروب الشعبي الاول على مستوى العالم أجمع
غني بالتفاصيل حول منبع القهوة الأساسي في إثيوبيا، أو مايُعرف بأرض كافا، رحلة قام بها الكاتب الصحفي محاولًا تقصي الموطن الأصلي لهذا المشروب، من وصف للطبيعة..عادات المزارعين..طرق تحضير القهوة.. وكأنك تشاهد فلمًا وثائقيًا على قناة ناشيونال جيوغرافيك..
اعجبني الجزء الذي يتحدث عن تجارة القهوة في مصر..وكيف اتخذها التجار المسلمون طريقًا للثراء!
كتاب فريد..يستحق القراءة
غني بالتفاصيل حول منبع القهوة الأساسي في إثيوبيا، أو مايُعرف بأرض كافا، رحلة قام بها الكاتب الصحفي محاولًا تقصي الموطن الأصلي لهذا المشروب، من وصف للطبيعة..عادات المزارعين..طرق تحضير القهوة.. وكأنك تشاهد فلمًا وثائقيًا على قناة ناشيونال جيوغرافيك..
اعجبني الجزء الذي يتحدث عن تجارة القهوة في مصر..وكيف اتخذها التجار المسلمون طريقًا للثراء!
كتاب فريد..يستحق القراءة
October 17, 2019
جولة رائعة ومثيرة للاهتمام عن تاريخ القهوة وإثيوبيا ورحلة انتشار القهوة إلى جميع أنحاء العالم.
إن كنت من عشاق القهوة، فعليك قراءة هذا الكتاب بكل تأكيد.
إن كنت من عشاق القهوة، فعليك قراءة هذا الكتاب بكل تأكيد.
November 20, 2021
A history of Ethiopia while focusing on the wild coffee trees that to this day provide a drink, a ritual, a commodity and economical base for the country and it's people. Especially those that live near the so-called cloud forests of Kaffa and Boma.
When people think of Ethiopia, they mostly consider the harsh Rift Valley and the Danakil Desert where some of the hottest temperatures in the world are recorded. Yet, it is the cool, central highlands, the historic home of the mysterious Kingdom of Kafa, that still has forests of wild coffee. Lush and hilly - it receives between 60 and 100" of rain annually as it rains nearly every day - European explorers called it the African Tibet.
Koehler then explores the history of the spread of coffee along trading routes from Yemen to the Middle East and Europe - hence the name 'arabica'. But it was the Muslim traders who brought seedlings and seeds to Yemen and the Ottoman Turk overlords that financed the extensive terracing needed to grow coffee. The continued spread to India, Sri Lanka, central and east Africa, Latin and South Africa and eventually Indonesia and Southeast Asia with it's different species called 'robusta' (actually from the Congo and Uganda).
And as coffee plantations spread, so did the debilitating coffee rust that effects trees and the amount harvested. Robusta is more resistant and diverse than arabica which had mostly genetically diminished by the few plants that survive in each location. And rust is continuing to mutate and the coffee industry needs the diversity that is located in the arabica cloud forests of Kafa and Harar. It is there - in the 99.8% diversity of arabica - that the key to the survival of the coffee industry can be found.
Coffee drinking and acceptance comes in three waves - first becoming a pantry staple as opposed to a luxury. Secondly, the smaller, higher quality beans that are roasted in the shop and helps develop the personal social experience of drinking coffee. And finally, the wave of drinking the best coffee available.
Before one complains about Starbucks long-reaching hand over the coffee industry, consider that JAB of Germany owns Peets, Keurig, Green Mountain, Caribou Coffee, Tim Horton's, Einstein Bros, Stumptown, Timothy's World Coffee, Intelligencia and dozens more global coffee brands along with Krispy Kreme, Tully's, Bally's, Coty, and dozens more companies. Coffee is a commodity and larger corporations have consolidated store brands and specialty coffee shops under their control. But they don't control the cloud forests - Ethiopia KNOWS that they control the future of the coffee industry and are in no hurry to allow foreign investment in those forbidden and restricted areas.
2021-223
When people think of Ethiopia, they mostly consider the harsh Rift Valley and the Danakil Desert where some of the hottest temperatures in the world are recorded. Yet, it is the cool, central highlands, the historic home of the mysterious Kingdom of Kafa, that still has forests of wild coffee. Lush and hilly - it receives between 60 and 100" of rain annually as it rains nearly every day - European explorers called it the African Tibet.
Koehler then explores the history of the spread of coffee along trading routes from Yemen to the Middle East and Europe - hence the name 'arabica'. But it was the Muslim traders who brought seedlings and seeds to Yemen and the Ottoman Turk overlords that financed the extensive terracing needed to grow coffee. The continued spread to India, Sri Lanka, central and east Africa, Latin and South Africa and eventually Indonesia and Southeast Asia with it's different species called 'robusta' (actually from the Congo and Uganda).
And as coffee plantations spread, so did the debilitating coffee rust that effects trees and the amount harvested. Robusta is more resistant and diverse than arabica which had mostly genetically diminished by the few plants that survive in each location. And rust is continuing to mutate and the coffee industry needs the diversity that is located in the arabica cloud forests of Kafa and Harar. It is there - in the 99.8% diversity of arabica - that the key to the survival of the coffee industry can be found.
Coffee drinking and acceptance comes in three waves - first becoming a pantry staple as opposed to a luxury. Secondly, the smaller, higher quality beans that are roasted in the shop and helps develop the personal social experience of drinking coffee. And finally, the wave of drinking the best coffee available.
Before one complains about Starbucks long-reaching hand over the coffee industry, consider that JAB of Germany owns Peets, Keurig, Green Mountain, Caribou Coffee, Tim Horton's, Einstein Bros, Stumptown, Timothy's World Coffee, Intelligencia and dozens more global coffee brands along with Krispy Kreme, Tully's, Bally's, Coty, and dozens more companies. Coffee is a commodity and larger corporations have consolidated store brands and specialty coffee shops under their control. But they don't control the cloud forests - Ethiopia KNOWS that they control the future of the coffee industry and are in no hurry to allow foreign investment in those forbidden and restricted areas.
2021-223
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2021
A must-read for any coffee professional. Koehler provides an accessible, readable, and highly alarming account of the state of the coffee industry, especially in terms of its general incapacity to weather the inevitable catastrophic consequences of climate change.
Grim read, but an important one.
Grim read, but an important one.
Read
September 5, 2025Okay I DNF’d 😖 But I got about halfway through! The library took it back twice and honestly I can’t be bothered to renew it again. The first few chapters were really good and the descriptions of Ethiopia and coffee were really enthralling, but then it got very deep into the history and it made it Not Enthralling.
April 17, 2020
سرد تاريخي واستقصاء صحفي حول تاريخ القهوة من غابة الكافا في اثيوبيا الى ميناء المخا في اليمن.
على عكس الاعتقاد السائد ان الكافيهات نتاج غربي.. كانت اولى المقاهي لتقديم القهوة انطلقت من الجزيرة العربية في القرن ١٦ ومن ثم اسطنبول. وعندما وصلت اوروبا حرمها الكهنة باعتباره مشروبا اسلاميا.
انتشرت المقاهي في لندن وباريس في القرن ١٧ وصارت ملتقى الادباء والمفكرين والفلاسفة، واصبحت القهوة ترفا شرقيا!
بمعنى ان شعور الاوروبي في تلك الحقبة وهو يشرب القهوة انه انسان عصري حداثي، نفس شعور الشرقي الان وهو يحتسي قهوة ستار بوكس! انقلبت الموازيين!
الغريب ان الامريكان اخر الشعوب التي عرفت المقاهي، حتى ستاربكس نفسه عندما افتتح فروعه في السبعينات كان باسلوب تقليدي، الى ان تحول في الثمانينات الى مقهى يجتمع فيه الناس كما هو الحال في اوروبا قبل اكثر من ٣ قرون !!
كل ما فعلوه الامريكان مع القهوة اعادوا فقط تسويقها وجعلوها اكثر جاذبية وعصرية، وصاروا يقدمون الخلطات الايطالية في اكواب ضخمة!
تخيل ان الامريكي الذي لم يكن يفقه شيء عن القهوة صار الان يدير السوق العالمي، ويجتذب اليه المراهقين كدلالة على عصريتهم.
على عكس الاعتقاد السائد ان الكافيهات نتاج غربي.. كانت اولى المقاهي لتقديم القهوة انطلقت من الجزيرة العربية في القرن ١٦ ومن ثم اسطنبول. وعندما وصلت اوروبا حرمها الكهنة باعتباره مشروبا اسلاميا.
انتشرت المقاهي في لندن وباريس في القرن ١٧ وصارت ملتقى الادباء والمفكرين والفلاسفة، واصبحت القهوة ترفا شرقيا!
بمعنى ان شعور الاوروبي في تلك الحقبة وهو يشرب القهوة انه انسان عصري حداثي، نفس شعور الشرقي الان وهو يحتسي قهوة ستار بوكس! انقلبت الموازيين!
الغريب ان الامريكان اخر الشعوب التي عرفت المقاهي، حتى ستاربكس نفسه عندما افتتح فروعه في السبعينات كان باسلوب تقليدي، الى ان تحول في الثمانينات الى مقهى يجتمع فيه الناس كما هو الحال في اوروبا قبل اكثر من ٣ قرون !!
كل ما فعلوه الامريكان مع القهوة اعادوا فقط تسويقها وجعلوها اكثر جاذبية وعصرية، وصاروا يقدمون الخلطات الايطالية في اكواب ضخمة!
تخيل ان الامريكي الذي لم يكن يفقه شيء عن القهوة صار الان يدير السوق العالمي، ويجتذب اليه المراهقين كدلالة على عصريتهم.
September 13, 2017
As Colombian-American, coffee is quite literally my lifeblood. I felt like I owed it to my multi-cup-a-day habit to learn a bit more about this precious beverage, and I found the history of mankind's relationship with this bean to be fascinating. The first few chapters were a bit long-winded and overly detailed while excavating the history of Ethiopian politics, tangential to the story at hand. But once the text returned to the global impact of coffee and threats to its future, the book was hard to put down. The perspectives compiled for this work will appeal to coffee snobs and scientists alike, though honestly anyone with a taste for the black gold will enjoy reading up on its past, present and future.
// I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
// I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 30, 2018
I have been reading about coffee for nearly a decade, and nothing I have read has been close to this book. The depth of research and insight, the respect for coffee's roots and its future, and the narrative that frames it all is top-shelf writing. I have greatly enjoyed reading and discussing this book with my coffee book club, and I think the next book we dive into has a lot to live up to.
There were frequent eye-rolling sections where the coffee industry and its more well known figures are romanticized, which it could've done without. But honestly there is no better book on the history and future of coffee that I can think of besides this one.
There were frequent eye-rolling sections where the coffee industry and its more well known figures are romanticized, which it could've done without. But honestly there is no better book on the history and future of coffee that I can think of besides this one.
August 9, 2017
A true love letter to the birthplace of coffee and our love affair with the drink. I loved this book, i learned so much about ethiopia as the birthplace of coffee and the people who bring it to market. I also learned about the way coffee has spread around the world and how the world loves and consumes such a ubiquitous beverage.
August 15, 2022
قرأت اكثر من كتاب عن القهوة وتاريخها لكن هذا الكتاب شدني بقوة من صفحاته الاولى وأخذني في جوله ممتعة في غابات اثيوبيا عبر أزمنة مختلفة للبحث عن تاريخ ومصدر القهوة البرية .
February 27, 2022
Interesting but not riveting. It was told a little dryly. But some fascinating facts. This was just the book about the background of coffee that I was looking for. I knew coffee originated from Africa but I didn't know that it was from such a small locale in Ethiopia. Lots of interesting facts about Ethiopia as well. It inspired me to look at a map and see the rift valley and the high lands and the 'natural citadel'. One of those amazing natural happenstances where a country just had to be. And, the fact they are orthodox Christian from the Roman Empire and not from colonialism is super interesting. And also that their modern belief system is still animism/forest religion merged with Orthodox Christianity in a way that no one would ever really call Christianity anymore.
Also, its not the books fault, but this was a standard story of lack of genetic diversity/mono-cropping in a main food/commodity crop. Replace coffee with banana in the genetics chapter and I could swear I was reading the same book. Except maybe, that coffee has a brighter future than bananas because at least there is still some wild things left. For now.
Also, its not the books fault, but this was a standard story of lack of genetic diversity/mono-cropping in a main food/commodity crop. Replace coffee with banana in the genetics chapter and I could swear I was reading the same book. Except maybe, that coffee has a brighter future than bananas because at least there is still some wild things left. For now.
March 5, 2024
This is easily the most comprehensive deep-dive into any food or beverage that I’ve ever read about. Drawing on a great bibliography of historical, scientific, and cultural knowledge, Koehler paints a picture of coffee from its infancy in the forests of Kafa, to the high-end coffee roasters of San Francisco and Seoul. Not only does the agricultural science of growing and cultivating the plant play a large role in the book, but Koehler does a satisfactory job of not getting too technical or bogged down in the hard science, writing as if the book is a Netflix documentary. I enjoyed his writing about the historical significance of coffee and its spread around Arabia and Europe in the last millennia, as well as the narrative storytelling and visuals that he paints of the local Kafa and Ethiopian people and their reverence for the drink. However, even with this in mind, Koehler can almost write too extensively about these topics, as the 80 pages of the book discussed a copious amount of colonial and African history which could’ve been summed up in half the time. That, in addition to the fact that I found myself droning through some of the chapters, leads me to this three-star rating.
Want to read
December 24, 2017I adore coffee. I love it hot or cold, morning or night. When I found this book I just knew I had to read it.
It starts out in Ethiopia where the coffee literally grows wild. It talks about how much coffee has changed their area of the world, even their culture. It goes on to explain its travel around the world until the way coffee is loved throughout the globe today.
This would be a great book for any fellow coffee lover or anyone who is interested in the history of this amazing drink.
* Thank you to Jeff Koehler, Bloomsbury and Netgalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
It starts out in Ethiopia where the coffee literally grows wild. It talks about how much coffee has changed their area of the world, even their culture. It goes on to explain its travel around the world until the way coffee is loved throughout the globe today.
This would be a great book for any fellow coffee lover or anyone who is interested in the history of this amazing drink.
* Thank you to Jeff Koehler, Bloomsbury and Netgalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
February 23, 2018
This is an excellent book about the Kafa region of Ethiopia and the original coffee that grows there. I have seen coffee cultivations in Jamaica and was interested to learn that the arabica monoculture is in danger from rust fungus infestation. The wild coffee trees of Kafa offer biodiversity and these wild varieties could help stave off the total collapse of the coffee industry. I adore good coffee, as do many, and I also love Ethiopia, and have many books about it. Brew up some Yirgacheffe and curl up with this one.
October 28, 2025
In a way, it was interesting because I am interested in the content. Overall it was very dense and written in a boring way so it was pretty brutal to get through. I feel bad rating it 2 stars, but it just could have been more compelling.
It did make me interested in learning more about African history since I am not familiar with a lot of it compared to European and American history. Took me forever to read. So. Dense. But in a way that felt unnecessary and tedious. I did learn a lot though. Should I give it a 3? Not sure
It did make me interested in learning more about African history since I am not familiar with a lot of it compared to European and American history. Took me forever to read. So. Dense. But in a way that felt unnecessary and tedious. I did learn a lot though. Should I give it a 3? Not sure
April 10, 2018
Very interesting examination of coffee's origins in the wilds of Ethiopia, its spread around the globe, and its future. A must for people deeply interested in coffee. The most engaging parts, for me, are those where the author is writing from first-hand experience, on location in the cloud forests of Ethiopia. I should say, this review is partial because I am friends with Jeff Koehler and mentioned in his acknowledgements.
April 3, 2020
Ever wonder where coffee originated? This book lays out the ins and outs of how coffee came to be a delicious and beloved beverage of many people. There are many interesting points and facts throughout this book. The dates and people become kind of confusing and interwoven. I wish the book was more organized by date. It became very hard to follow the story at times. Overall, quite interesting and fascinating to read about all of the facts about coffee through the years.
February 12, 2018
This book was an offbeat choice for me, but I was curious about the beginnings of the coffee story. However, I wasn't curious to read the entire book, so I stopped after the chapters covering my area of interest & I had skimmed some of the preceding chapters. I base my rating on the detail & quality of writing that I did read.
March 31, 2018
You will surely start enjoying your coffee lot more after you read this book.
Book covers about history of coffee, coffee from different nations, diseases that can harm coffee plants, current situation about coffee plantations.
Wish they also provided samples of all the coffee that they have mentioned,along with this book. Too much to ask for ;)
Book covers about history of coffee, coffee from different nations, diseases that can harm coffee plants, current situation about coffee plantations.
Wish they also provided samples of all the coffee that they have mentioned,along with this book. Too much to ask for ;)
August 24, 2019
The title describes this excellent book well. There were times I was curious as to why I was reading some of the material, but it in the end I found all of the individual elements important to the final brew. Jeff Koehler really does an excellent job of helping me understand why this wild coffee is so very important.
November 13, 2021
افضل كتاب قراته فعليا انا من عشاق القهوة ولقيت في هذا الكتاب كل ماكان يثير تساؤلي وكشف غموض القهوة جزئيا
كل كوب قهوة خلفه قصه طويله ساحرة
باسلوب روائي ممتع ياخذنا الكاتب الى غابات كافا في اثيوبيا ونبدا نعرف اصل القهوة العربيه وطريقة انتقالها في العالم مع الامراض اللي اصابتها مع نقلها وتجفيفها وتحميلها حتى توصل لنا بشكلها الحالي كوب قهوة لذيذ
كل كوب قهوة خلفه قصه طويله ساحرة
باسلوب روائي ممتع ياخذنا الكاتب الى غابات كافا في اثيوبيا ونبدا نعرف اصل القهوة العربيه وطريقة انتقالها في العالم مع الامراض اللي اصابتها مع نقلها وتجفيفها وتحميلها حتى توصل لنا بشكلها الحالي كوب قهوة لذيذ
September 25, 2017
I'm not much of a coffee drinker myself, but have folks who are both among family and friends. For those diehards- they will love this book! loaded with coffee facts and history. For the rest of us, interesting read!
November 14, 2017
As a self-proclaimed coffee achiever, I really enjoyed this book. I loved reading the history and culture of coffee. I found the book to be a little slow moving at times but, still, very interesting and worth the read. An ode to my favorite beverage. Well done!
December 2, 2018
An interesting travelogue that covers the history of coffee, Ethiopia and the journey of the majestic plant throughout the world. Almost all varieties of coffee produced today have their origins from Ethiopia. A must read for coffee aficionados.
September 15, 2019
Fascinating account of coffee's origins, and quite a different take to the usual explorations of cultivated coffee in South and Central America. I also appreciated the fact that it ends on a hopeful note, despite poignantly detailing the devastation of climate change.
November 22, 2020
I’m not even a big coffee drinker, but I really enjoyed this book. Fascinating journey into the world of coffee: history; transport; genetics; flavor; evolution; challenges; it’s got it all. I plan to read Darjeeling because it’s more my cup of tea :-)
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